French defense contractor Kership has begun assembly of the Montenegrin Navy’s two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) in Lorient as part of a contract signed in 2024.
The program will model the vessels on the Concarneau-based company’s proprietary OPV 60M ship, which is designed for maritime law enforcement and larger defense missions.
Once completed, the systems are expected to bolster Montenegro’s capabilities to protect its territorial waters, cooperate on multinational deployments, combat smuggling and illegal migration, fulfill obligations within the NATO alliance, and aid in other security challenges across the theater.
Kership, in partnership with the French Ministry of Defence, will deliver the ships to the Balkan state in 2026.
➡️Danas je u francuskom🇫🇷 brodogradilištu KERSHIP u Lorijenu obilježen početak izrade dva nova patrolna broda za Mornaricu Vojske Crne Gore🇲🇪.
Opširnije ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/99KV3zQQ9h
— Defence MNE (@defence_mne) April 24, 2025
“Our decision to cooperate with France in this project, a country whose defense system is among the most developed and its military industry among the strongest in Europe, is part of the partnership with one of the most important strategic allies since Montenegro gained its Euro-Atlantic orientation,” Montenegrin Defence Minister Dragan Krapović remarked.
The OPV 60M
Kership’s OPV 60M design measures 62 meters (203 feet) in length and has the capacity for up to 40 sailors.
It is powered by twin electric diesel engines and twin fixed pitch propellers for a top speed of 21 knots (39 kilometers/24 miles) per hour and a range of about 9,700 nautical miles (17,964 kilometers/11,163 miles).
The vessel has space for rigid hull inflatable boats, an unmanned aerial system, standard 20-foot (6-meter) logistics containers, and 7.5-ton (6,804-kilogram) crane arms.
The OPV is armed with a remote-operated weapon station, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, a naval gun, and machine guns.
